Studying at York
Gender & Migration - WOM00018M
- Department: Centre for Women's Studies
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
- See module specification for other years: 2022-23
Module summary
Taking an intersectional feminist approach, this module explores the gendered dynamics of migration.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
With around 200 million international migrants in the world currently, around half of whom are women, migration is not only one of the most important and pressing global issues of our time, but also a significant issue within Women’s and Gender Studies. This module explores the gendered dynamics of migration, considering both forced and voluntary migration (as well as those migratory journeys that fall somewhere in-between). Taking an intersectional feminist approach, the module troubles what we understand by the term ‘migrant’, exploring how gendered and other power differentials are embedded within the migration process. The module draws on a range of theoretical and conceptual tools, a wealth of case study data, and students own experiences of migration to interrogate the multiplicity of ways in which migration is gendered. Focusing on a number of key issues, such as transnational care, gender based violence, trafficking and generational patterns in migration trafficking, the module considers the significance of feminist research in developing the field of migration studies. In addition, students develop skills in critical analysis through a portfolio of assessed work which includes a critical review, case study report and annotated bibliography.
Module learning outcomes
After successfully completing this module, students should be able to:
Demonstrate a critical and nuanced understanding of the gendered aspects of various forms of migration
Critically analyse a range of methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of migration within the overall context of gender studies;
Be familiar with a number of empirical examples and case studies pertaining to the question of how migration experiences are gendered;
Interrogate and analyse different forms of migration experience from an intersectional feminist perspective;
Be able to critically evaluate a variety of books, journals and other sources of information relevant to the topics studied on the course;
Present complex arguments, in relation to gender and migration, cogently and with nuance in both oral and written form
Module content
Indicative Programme:
Week 2: introduction to theories of gender and migration: an intersectional feminist approach
Week 3: researching migration from a feminist perspective
Week 4: transnational care
Week 5: gender, violence and migration
Week 6: READING WEEK
Week 7: trafficking
Week 8: Generation, gender and migration: the case of unaccompanied child migrants
Week 9: gender and international student migration
Week 10: representations of gender and migration (in media, literature, music, law etc)
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Students need to receive a pass mark for the combined components to pass the module. If students do not achieve an overall pass mark, they are reassessed in the component/s they have failed.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
Module feedback
Students will usually receive feedback within 20 working days in line with University guidelines.
Indicative reading
Anderson Bridget and Isabel Shutes (2014) Migration and Care Labour: Theory, Policy and Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Anzaldua Gloria (1987) Borderlands/ La Frontera: the new mestiza, San Francisco: Spinsters/ Aunt Lute
Brettel Caroline B (2016) Gender and Migration, Cambridge: Polity Books
Currie Samantha and Helen Stafford (2009) Gender and Migration in 21st century Europe. London: Routledge
Kontos Maria and Glenda Tibe Bonifacio (eds) (2015) Migrant Domestic Workers and Family Life: International Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Passarlay Gulwali (2019) The Lightless Sky: My Journey to Safety as a Child Refugee, London: Atlantic Books
Shukla, Nikesh (2016) The Good Immigrant, Unbound Books.